The new February market numbers are out for Bend. New sales stayed pretty flat, and closings dipped down 12% from January. It was also another losing month for Bend single-family home inventory numbers. This is going to be good news for sellers while it lasts. If you want to see my take on the recent trend, you can check out my video blog on the subject.
How to beat a bank in 5 days: Part I
Challenge Time
A good friend of mine calls some of the near impossible short sales I complete “trophies”. Similar to a hunter who mounts his kills throughout his house, I collect short sale victories despite overwhelming odds and limited chance of success. This may sound a bit egotistical, but it helps preserve what little bit of sanity I still possess. Please take this with a grain of salt as the amount of empathy and sympathy I feel for each and everyone going through the process of losing their home, nearly sends me to emotional therapy sessions. The sadness of what so many have lost takes its toll on my heart and soul every day.
Although I have faced many difficult situations with previous short sales and fighting tooth and nail with banks and loan servicing companies, I now face quite possibly the most challenging task thrown at me in the last 10 years of my real estate career: Stop a foreclosure in 5 days. The people are emotional. The burden is heavy. But the opportunity…the opportunity to help, the opportunity to take on another lender, and the opportunity to preserve some pride and instill some hope in another family; a family bleeding from economic carnage and the effects of a collapsed housing market, has never been greater. This situation reminds me of the old adage “Never take a knife to a gun fight”. Sorry Mr. Banker, you better be pretty good with a knife…End of rant.
p.s. if I do get this done, you can bet I will blog about it and share everything I can to help the next person facing a similar situation.
Other parts of this series:
Part I: https://movetobend.com/how-to-beat-a-bank-in-5-days-part-i/
Part II: https://movetobend.com/how-to-beat-a-bank-in-5-days-part-ii/
Part III: https://movetobend.com/how-to-beat-a-bank-in-5-days-part-iii/
Final Chapter: https://movetobend.com/how-to-beat-a-bank-in-5-days-final-chapter/
Props to SunTrust Mortgage
Props to SunTrust Mortgage
In all of the real estate short sale turmoil, I have to take a few minutes and rant (positively) about SunTrust mortgage. In all honesty, I have no question the listing broker’s diligence was a big part of the recent approval. However, SunTrust just approved a short sale in approximately 50 days. This may seem insignificant to those unfamiliar with the incredibly long and drawn out short sale process, but I assure you it is not. Brokers in this day and age are in the trenches of short sales for months and months and approvals happening this quickly are few and far between. So SunTrust, you win lender of the week for your ability to actually work with your sellers and help them extinguish the agonizing and helpless situation brought on by a brutal economy and unforeseen circumstances. Keep up the good work:) End of rant.
Ultimate fighting championship: Humans vs. B of A
Okay, back again with revenge of the people. What started as a blog campaign to help people understand the flawed and brutal short sale gauntlet, has turned into a mixture of factual information and emotional rants. I can’t help it. I’m a type “A” individual who lives and dies by emotional responses to nearly every situation. So if I am not providing useful factual insight on real estate happenings or untangling today’s real estate jargon, hopefully the rants help express my empathy for anyone dealing with the big banks and their ridiculous and half-hearted attempt to appease the masses with lip service.
Here’s a link http://homeloanhelp.bankofamerica.com/en/homeowner-counseling.html. I never want to be accused of plagiarism. The next comment is a direct quote from Bank of America’s Homeowner Counseling Services. “If you’re experiencing a financial hardship, homeowner counseling services can help you set a budget, find local resources and decide which options might be the best for you.” One word: Bullshit. Even if you read and reread the above quote, you will find the statement empty of any type of genuine or self deprecating language. The page then goes on to point you to government help programs. Thanks for the tip B of A, but I have a new website called Google. Heard of it? Save the desperate attempt at adding relevant content to your site and come up with something original and meaningful.
Continuing on, B of A is kind enough to give the below advice on mortgage fraud (and I quote)
Recognize and avoid mortgage fraud, loan assistance scams and other common schemes
- Beware of any person or organization that asks you to pay a fee in exchange for housing counseling services or modification of a past due loan
- Beware of anyone who says they can “save” your home if you sign or transfer over the deed to your house
- Do not sign over the deed to your property to any organization or individual unless you are working directly with your mortgage servicer to forgive your debt
- Never make your mortgage payments to anyone other than your mortgage servicer without their approval.
(Here’s the link. Check it out for yourself: http://homeloanhelp.bankofamerica.com/en/avoiding-mortgage-scams.html
Let’s break this down. Bullet point #1: “Beware of any person or organization that asks you to pay of fee in exchange for housing counseling services…” Basically, beware of B of A (and don’t worry Wells Fargo, you will get your turn). Here’s why. During a short sale, I have seen B of A ask homeowners (homeowners who are completely broke at best) to “contribute” to the sale by bringing funds to close or signing a promissory note to pay a portion of the deficiency in the form of cash. I know, many of you are saying “Well, they promised to pay and they took out the loan to buy. They need to take responsibility for their actions”…. What if I told you that they ask this when a near death accident breaks a family via medical expenses, leaving them no choice but to short sale or go through foreclosure? I’m a capitalist too, but all parties assume risk when entering a contract. If the statement said “If you default, we are going to come after you, guns blazing until you surrender all that you have” at least everyone would know your goal. But people don’t and truly think you want to help. Anyone for a lesson in “Truth in Advertising? Nonetheless, bullet point #1 is violated by B of A.
Bullet point #2: “ Beware of anyone who says they can “save” your home if you sign or transfer over the deed to your house”. You be the judge on this one. A client of mine was in the middle of a short sale and had an opportunity to give B of A almost the entire amount owed. During the short sale, people at the bank were contacting my client and urging him to do a deed-in-lieu (DIL) of foreclosure to avoid credit damage. Okay, so they didn’t say “save your home”, but they did say “save your credit”. In all actuality, the credit damage he would have sustained from a deed-in-lieu (with terms they imposed), would cost him slightly less than a foreclosure while providing for an immense hassle and legal expenses (again, broke at best). Eventually however, their recommendation and notes in the file about the DIL, caused his short sale to be cancelled. After we started it again and battled for 5 months, the buyer went away and the bank foreclosed (as a side note, they sold the property for $45,000 less than the offer we had).
Bullet point #3: “Do not sign over the deed to your property…unless you are working directly with your mortgage servicer to forgive your debt”. My comments on this one get a little dicey due to debt forgiveness and legal rights to pursue deficiencies (both of which are beyond the scope of my licensure and should be addressed by an attorney in your state). When state and federal laws force them to forgive, they forgive. When laws permit them to pursue, they do. So, you are working with your mortgage servicer, they aren’t necessarily forgiving your debt, and they want you to surrender the deed to your property as mentioned in the paragraph immediately preceding this one. Don’t they tell you not to do this? I am so confused….
Bullet point #4: “Never make your mortgage payments to anyone other than your mortgage servicer without their approval”. Here’s the thing, they are trying to keep people from paying 3rd party companies a fee to help with negotiating a short sale, etc. on homeowners’ behalf. I get that. Don’t throw your money away. By throwing “their approval” in the mix, they are implying that they are an authority on determining the validity of who you pay. This story might really piss you off, so be warned. A dear friend of mine (who previously worked for B of A…so much for loyalty) was told by B of A that her loan modification was approved. They needed her to make reduced payments of $X dollars (which she could afford) per month for 3 months and if she proved she was capable of this, they would make this her payment for the rest of her loan. She made the 3 payments on time and in the amount they “approved”. She continued to check in with them on a regular basis to make sure everything was on track. Continually they told her she was complying and they would not foreclose. One day, this single mother of a 13 yr. old and 2 yr. old, heard a knock at her door. It was a local real estate broker. Surprised to see her, my friend asked why she stopped by her home. In a very sorrowful and soft tone, the broker proceeded to tell her that the bank foreclosed on her home and she needed to vacate the premises in a very short amount of time. Bullet point #4 was not technically violated because my friend didn’t make a payment to someone other than the servicer. For what it is worth, they also approved her payments. If this isn’t stealing and fraudulent, I don’t know what is.
If you find this article to be a misrepresentation of Bank of America, like it, hate it, can’t believe it, etc., I encourage you to share your comments. At heart, I am an eternal optimist. Have a good story? Let me know. Your input is important. End of rant.
B of A provides self-incriminating short sale evidence
Good things come to those who wait!
I have been dying to write about this. Seriously, other than obtaining our Facebook MovetoBend page, this is the single most exciting thing that happened today! (maybe this week) After digging for information, etc. on their short sale and help for homeowner programs, I found the single biggest line of B.S….Ever! And it’s published on Bank of America’s website! Normally the links I post will take you straight to the subject matter. This time you will actually have to select “Short Sale” from the drop down topic list if you want to see it for yourself. Tell you what, I’ll save you the trouble. Here’s a direct quote from the Bank of America website:
“Because of the number of people and amount of paperwork involved in a short sale, it can take longer than a traditional home sale. Typically it takes 45 to 90 days after the initial offer is accepted to finalize, although timelines can vary based upon current market conditions and your particular circumstances”
I hate writing in all caps, but this is an event worthy of stepping up the font to Calibri size 14, bold, and AND in full caps. Ready?
THIS IS ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE. NOT EVEN KIND OF TRUE. IT IS SO DISHONEST THE FTC SHOULD STEP IN AND ENCOURAGE EVERYONE WITH A LOAN SERVICED BY BANK OF AMERICA TO JOIN A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST THEM.
45 to 90 days? Amount of paperwork involved? Timelines can vary? You’ve got to be kidding me. They would be just as truthful by saying 1-2 days, but timelines may vary. Joke, joke, joke! I received approval on one deal and the negotiator wouldn’t even quote a timeframe for issuance of the approval letter! This was one step away from full blown approval! If you took the most recent “finalize” I received from them and averaged it with a 1 day closing, which is impossible, the average, that’s right average, would be approximately 99 days!(Here’s a quick math problem: (X+2)/2=99) X=?) I am not exaggerating or joking. Don’t believe me? Call my seller and ask her how agonizing and brutal a late Jan. closing is when you receive an offer in mid-July. “…timelines can vary based upon current market conditions…” Yeah, because the market has fluctuated sooo much lately. “…particular circumstances”? How about broke, broke, and hmmmm….oh yeah, broke. This is the most brutal statement and bald face lie I have ever seen. This makes adultery look like a noble act….End of rant.